Printing press

ABSTRACT

A non-perfecting web offset printing press having at least one unit and wherein said unit includes a base including a pressure roller and a plurality of heads each including blanket and plate rollers and ink and water motions. Each head is releasably secured to and aligned relative to the base and the heads are interchangeable to facilitate printing of signatures of different sizes.

O United States Patent 1191 1111 3,877,370

Hantscho Apr. 15, 1975 [54] PRINTING PRESS 3,147,702 9/1964 Martin 101/219 3,229,631 1/1966 Peterson 101/228 [75] Inventor Wall" Hamel, Poundndge, 3,323,452 6/1967 Pasquinelli 101/247 3,470,816 10/1969 Piecha et a1. 101/216 3,585,931 6/1971 West et al 101/349 [73] Assignee. George Hantscho Company, Inc.,

Mount Vernon, Nvy. 3,650,208 3/1972 Lambert 101/123 [22] Filed. Nov 12 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,241,476 8/1971 United Kingdom [21] Appl. No.: 414,713

Related u.s. Application Data Primary 'i" g 5 [63] Continuation of S61. No 270,523, July 10, 1972, Amsmm Hammer-Wuhan abandoned.

[57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. C1. 101/216; 100/168; 101/ 177 A non-perfecting web offset printing press having at [51] Int. Cl B41t 5/06 least n ni n wherein aid unit includes'a base [58] Field of Search 93/34; 100/155, 166, 161, including a pressure roller and a plurality of heads 100/168; 101/141-l45, 174, 178, 181, 212, each including blanket and plate rollers and ink and 216, 219, 153, 177, 179, 137 water motions. Each head is releasably secured to and aligned relative to the base and the heads are inter- [56] References Cit d changeable to facilitate printing of signatures of differ- UNITED STATES PATENTS em slzes- 2,149,028 2/1938 Meisel 101/181 5 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PRINTING PRESS This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 270,5 23 filed July 10, 1972 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to printing presses and more specifically to a non-perfecting web offset press embodying one or more printing units for single and multiple impression printing.

Web offset presses whether of the perfecting or nonperfecting type embodying a plate roller carrying the material to be printed, ink and water rollers for applying ink to selected portions of the plate roller, and a blanket roller for transferring ink from the plate roller to the web to reproduce the material carried by the plate roller on the web. In a non-perfecting press, a backup or pressure roller is provided on the underside of the web to urge the web against the blanket roller. In a perfecting press two blanket rollers are provided, each having its associated plate rollers and ink and water supplies. Because of the high degree of precision required in constructing and mounting the plate and blanket rollers and in positioning the ink and water rollers relative to the plate roller, an offset press whether of the perfecting or non-perfecting type must be designed for a signature of specific dimensions as it is not possible to modify the diameters of the plate and blanket rollers without virtually reconstructing the entire press. Accordingly, if signatures of different sizes are to be printed, a separate complete press comprising one or more units must be provided for each signature size.

In many applications, such as boxes and other packaging materials, printing is required on only one side of the web and inasmuch as packaging materials vary greatly in size, a relatively large number of presses are required to enable a printer to handle a wide variety of packaging requirements. I

This invention has as one of its objects the provision of a novel and improved non-perfecting press wherein each press unit includes interchangable heads and wherein each head includes a plate roller, a blanket roller, and associated ink and water supply means. With this arrangement a printer can utilize a single press with a plurality ofheads for each printing unit and with each head being designed to print signatures of specific dimensions. With this arrangement the heads of each unit can be readily interchanged to print signatures of different sizes and the space requirements for storage of the printing heads when not in use is small in comparison to the space required for a plurality of complete presses. Moreover, the cost of a printing press embodying a plurality of printing heads is materially smaller than the cost of a plurality of independent presses to accomplish the same objectives.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and improved non-perfecting web offset press unit embodying interchangable heads in order to print signatures of different sizes and embodying improved means for quickly and easily interchanging press heads and ensuring precise alignment of each head with the base of'the unit. In this way, should-a press embody a plurality of units, once the heads for each unit are properly adjusted to register with the other units, registration will automatically be maintained each time the head is placed in position on the base.

Still, another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and improved aligning and releasable locking means for securing a press head to the base of a non-perfecting web offset press in accordance with the invention.

Still, another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and improved non-perfecting web offset press.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings forming part of this application.

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a multi-unit nonperfecting offset press in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of one unit of a web offset press in accordance with the invention showing a replaceable head having plate and blanket rollers of one size,

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 2 but wherein the press head utilizes plate and blanket rollers which are smaller in diameter than those shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one side of a frame of a press unit in accordance with the invention illustrating one embodiment of means for aligning the press head with the base,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 taken along the line 5-5 thereof,

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the head lowered into position on the base,

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view in partial section similar to FIG. 4 and illustrating one embodiment of precision aligning means for the head and base portions,

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 7 taken along the line 8-8 thereof,

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of aligning means in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 taken along the line l0-l0 thereof,

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of aligning means in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 11 taken along the line 12-12 thereof,

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of one form oflocking means for securing the head and base sections of a printing unit one to the other,

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 13 taken along the line 'l4l4 thereof, and

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of a modified form of locking means in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and more specifically to FIG. 1, a multi-unit printing press usually comprises an in-feed device 10 to control the tension on the web 11 to be printed, a plurality of printing units l2, l3, 14, I5 and 16 and a drying device 17. The non-perfecting printing units 12 through 16 in accordance with the invention each comprise a base 18 and. a removable head 19. A hoist 20 carried by a track 21 is utilized for removing the head 19 of each press unit and transporting it to a storage area and for transporting heads from the storage area and lowering them on to the bases 18 when it is desired to modify the signature size. It is evident however that any suitable type of hoist may be utilized in accordance with the invention.

Inasmuch as the press units 12 through 16 are identical, only the press unit 12 will be described. FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the press unit 12 and shows in dotted outline the relative positions of the rollers in the base 18 and head 19. The base 18 includes the backup or pressure roller 22 which is driven by gears 23 and 24. It is well known that a common drive is utilized for the in-feed 10, the press units 12 through 16, and dryer 17, and for simplicity the common drive mechanism has been omitted. For purposes of this application, it need only be stated that the gear 24 of each of the press units 12 through 16 is driven and it in turn drives the pressure roller 22 as well as the rollers in the head 19 as will be described.

The head 19 includes a plate roller 25, a blanket roller 26, an ink motion generally denoted by the numeral 27, and a water motion generally denoted by the numeral 28. In a web offset press the plate roller carries the material to be printed and ink from the ink fountain 29 is fed through a series of rollers denoted by the numeral 27 for application to the plate roller 25. At the same time water is applied from the reservoir through the series of rollers denoted by the numeral 28. The inked material or image on the plate roller 25 is transferred to the blanket roller 26 which in turn prints the image of material on the web 11. This is a conventional offset printing procedure and further description is not deemed necessary. As previously pointed out, the roller 22 carries a spur gear which meshes with the spur gear 23 for driving the roller 22. The roller 22 in turn drives the roller 26 by means of a spur gear carried by the shaft of roller 26, and it in turn drives the plate roller 25 through a similar spur gear carried by the shaft of roller 25. The rollers forming part of the ink and water motions 27 and 28 are similarly driven from the spur gear carried by.the plate roller 25 through spur gears mounted on the shafts of each of the individual rollers. Thus, each entire press unit 12 through 16 is driven by the gear 24 and since the bases 18 of the press units are permanently positioned, the heads 19 of the press units can be readily interchanged without interfering with the driven means. Moreover, inasmuch as all of the rollers in the head 19 are driven by meshing spur gears carried by the rollers 22 and 26, driving engagement of the rollers 22 and 26 is effected automatically upon the placement ofa head 19 onto the base 18. FIG. 2 shows plate and blanket rollers 25 and 26 of relatively large diameter while FIG. 3, which is similar to FIG. 2, has a head 19 having plate and blanket rollers 25 and 26' which are smaller in diameter than the rollers 25 and 26. In this way, by merely substituting the head 19' for the head 19, a signature of smaller size can be printed. It follows that a variety of heads 19 can be employed to enable signatures of many different sizes to be printed.

Positioning of the press unit 19 on the base 18 is accomplished by jacks 31 carried by the base 18 as shown in FIGS. 4 through 6, and precise alignment is accomplished by precision pins 32 on the base 18 and pin receptacles 33 on the bottom edge of the head 19 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Referring first to FIGS. 4, S and 6, each side frame 34 of the base 18 carries at least 2 jacks 31, each including a cylinder 35 having a hydraulically operated piston therein for raising and lowering a piston rod 36. The outer end of each rod 36 carries a conical member 37 which engages cooperating receptacles 38 carried by each side frame 39 of the head 19. The receptacles 38 each have an opening 40 extending therethrough with the lower portion 41 thereof having a taper corresponding to the taper of the cone 37. When a head 19 is to be placed on the base 18, the jacks 31 are moved to the raised position as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As the head is lowered by the crane 20 the receptacles 38 engage the cones 37 and support the head in the raised position whereupon the crane 29 is disengaged from the head. The jacks 31 are then operated to slowly lower the head into place on the base 18 and the projection 42 on each side frame 34 of the base engages a cooperating recess 43 on each side frame of the head 19. Precision alignment is then effected by pins 32 and cooperating receptacles 33 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The pins 32 are fixedly mounted in each side frame 34 of the base 18 and have conical tips 44. The receptacles 33 each include a rectangular structure 45 bolted in position in recesses formed in the side frames 39 of the head 19. Each structure 45 has a central opening 46 in which is positioned a hardened sleeve 47. The lower edge 48 of the sleeve is recessed and the edge 49 of the inner opening is slightly rounded. By properly adjusting the position of each receptacle 33 relative to the cooperating pin 32, as the rounded edges 49 of the sleeve 47 engage the cones 44, precise alignment of the head 19 will be effected relative to the base 18. Moreover, inasmuch as the jacks 31 can lower the lead 19 very slowly into position so that the pins very slowly engage the cooperating receptacles 33, precise alignment is effected without in any way damaging the aligning means. To remove a head 19, the jacks 31 would be operated to merely raise the head 19 whereupon the crane 20 would be engaged with the head to remove it from the base.

A modified form of aligning means is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. In this embodiment of the invention each side frame 39 of the head 19 includes at least two transverse recesses 50 each having a block 51 with a conical recess 52 positioned therein. The side frames 34 of the base each include cylindrical recesses 52 for receiving cylindrical members 53 secured into position by bolts 54. This structure effects precise alignment of the sections of the unit in the direction of the movement of the web 11. Transverse alignment can be effected by utilizing similar structures positioned at to the structures shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 so that individual aligning means are provided for both longitudinal and transverse positioning.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate still another form of aligning means which consists of an insert 55 positioned with a recess 56 of the bottom edge of each frame 39 of the head 19. Two inserts are preferably provided on each side frame 39. The insert 55 includes a recess 57 having tapered side walls as illustrated in FIG. 12, and a block 58 is positioned within the recess 57 which is adjustably secured to the insert 55. The upper edge of each side frame 34 of the base 18 is provided with an elongated key 59 having tapered side walls secured to the side frame by bolts 60. With this arrangement, as the head 19 is lowered onto the base, the side walls of the key 59 will engage the recess 57 to align the head transversely with the base. At the same time a sloped edge 61 on each key 59 will engage the block 58 and effect longitudinal alignment.

When the head 19 is in position on the base as previously described, it is desirable to releasably lock the head in position. One structure for accomplishing this end is illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14. It comprises a shaft 62 rotatably mounted in each side frame 34 of the base 18. An eccentric shaft 63 is carried by the shaft 62 and a plate 64 is secured to the shaft 63 by a key 65 and cooperating keyways. With this arrangement, as the block 64 is rotated, the shaft 63 will move from a lower position to an upper position by reason of its eccentric relationship with the shaft 62. A latch 66 is rotatably carried by the shaft 63 and has a hook-like portion 67 which engages a pin 68 carried by the side frame 39 of the head 19. The plate 64 also carries a pin 69 which is coupled by a spring 70 to a pin 71 carried by the latch 66. It will be observed that when the plate 64 is moved to its counterclockwise position, the pin 69 will bear against the edge of the latch 66 and the eccentric shaft 63 will have moved slightly beyond bottom dead center. This is in the nature of a toggle mechanism and the spring 70 will function to hold the latch in the engaged position as illustrated. To disengage the latch the plate 64 is merely moved in a clockwise direction which raises the latch so that it can disengage the pin 68.

While onlyone latch has been illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, two or more latches may be provided on each side of each press unit. The latches have not been shown on previous figures to avoid undue complication though it is evident from a discussion of FIGS. 13 and 14 that the latches are mounted on the side frames of each unit.

A modified form of latch is illustrated in FIG. 15. In this embodiment each side frame 34 includes one or more brackets 70 which pivotly support levers 71 by pins 72. The side frames 39 of the head 18 each include outwardly extending brackets 73 carrying pins 72. A hook or a hooking member 75 is pivoted at 76 to each lever 71 at a point below the pivot 72 as shown in FIG. 15. The upper end of each hooking member 75 has a curved portion 77 which engages a pin 74. When the latch is in the locked position as shown in FIG. 15, the axis of the pivot 76 lies nearer the frame 34 than does the axis of the pivot 72 so that when the lever is in the lower position and bears against the stop 78, the latch will not release unless the lever 71 is moved outwardly. This structure also embodies a so-called toggle action and holds the head firmly in position on the base.

While only certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is apparent that alterations, modifications and changes may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A non-perfecting web offset press comprising a base including a pair of side frames and a driven pressure roller, a head including a pair of side frames releasably secured to said base and including plate and blanket rollers and ink and water motions, disengageable means mechanically coupling said pressure and blanket rollers, said pair of base side frames including head aligning means and said head having aligning means cooperating with the first said aligning means to maintain precise alignment of one pair of side frames with the other pair of side frames, jacks each having means movable in the direction of movement of the head carried by one pair of side frames, and jack engaging means carried by the other pair of side frames, the said movable means of said jacks being operable to engage said jack engaging means to elevate and lower said head relative to said base while retaining said head in position to facilitate engagement of said precise aligning means on said head with said cooperating aligning means on said base, whereby said jacks function to facilitate engagement and disengagement of said cooperating alignment means in removal and replacement of said head on said base so that upon placement of a new head upon said base with the jacks in elevated position; lowering said jacks serve to lower the head to enable engagement of said head and base alignment means to precisely hold said head in alignment with said base.

2. A non-perfecting web offset press according to claim 1 wherein said press includes a plurality of units and said aligning means are adjustable to align each head with the heads of other units whereby each head upon being removed from its associated base and replaced thereon will automatically assume the aligned position.

3. A non-perfecting offset press according to claim 2 wherein each unit includes a base and at least two heads with the blanket and plate rollers of one head differing in size from the blanket and plate rollers of the other head whereby installation of one set of heads having blanket and plate rollers of one size on said bases will enable the printing of signatures of one size and the installation of another set of heads having plate and blanket rollers of another size will enable the printing of signatures of another size.

4. A non-perfecting web offset press according to claim 1 wherein said mechanical coupling means comprises a pair of gears coupled to said blanket and pressure rollers and engageable upon placement of the head on the base.

5. A non-perfecting web offset press according to claim 1 wherein one set of side frames include latches and the other set of side frames include latch engaging means to secure the head in firm engagement with said 

1. A non-perfecting web offset press comprising a base including a pair of side frames and a driven pressure roller, a head including a pair of side frames releasably secured to said base and including plate and blanket rollers and ink and water motions, disengageable means mechanically coupling said pressure and blanket rollers, said pair of base side frames including head aligning means and said head having aligning means cooperating with the first said aligning means to maintain precise alignment of one pair of side frames with the other pair of side frames, jacks each having means movable in the direction of movement of the head carried by one pair of side frames, and jack engaging means carried by the other pair of side frames, the said movable means of said jacks being operable to engage said jack engaging means to elevate and lower said head relative to said base while retaining said head in position to facilitate engagement of said precise aligning means on said head with said cooperating aligning means on said base, whereby said jacks function to facilitate engagement and disengagement of said cooperating alignment means in removal and replacement of said head on said base so that upon placement of a new head upon said base with the jacks in elevated position; lowering said jacks serve to lower the head to enable engagement of said head and base alignment means to precisely hold said head in alignment with said base.
 2. A non-perfecting web offset press according to claim 1 wherein said press includes a plurality of units and said aligning means are adjustable to align each head with the heads of other units whereby each head upon being removed from its associated base and replaced thereon will automatically assume the aligned position.
 3. A non-perfecting offset press according to claim 2 wherein each unit includes a base and at least two heads with the blanket and plate rollers of one head differing in size from the blanket and plate rollers of the other head whereby installation of one set of heads having blanket and plate rollers of one size on said bases will enable the printing of signatures of one size and the installation of another set of heads having plate and blanket rollers of another size will enable the printing of signatures of another size.
 4. A non-perfecting web offset press according to claim 1 wherein said mechanical coupling means comprises a pair of gears coupled to said blanket and pressure rollers and engageable upon placement of the head on the base.
 5. A non-perfecting web offset press according to claim 1 wherein one set of side frames include latches and the other set of side frames include latch engaging means to secure the head in firm engagement with said base. 